


Kid

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-25 23:30:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12543704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Jack and Ydris take their puppy for a walk. Jack belongs to SSO-Jack-Wolfwatcher.





	Kid

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SSO-Jack-Wolfwatcher (UglyJackal)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/UglyJackal/gifts).



Despite all of Jack's teasing, Ydris often arose with the sun. Some of the best spells only worked in the first rays of the sun, or he needed dew drops for spell ingredients, and sometimes he needed what the druids called 'tears of Aideen'. Sometimes, depending on what he needed, it took hours for Ydris to get just what he needed.

But today, Ydris had awoken a little later. It had been a full moon night last night, and Jack had needed him to stay locked inside the wagon with the kids for safety. The kids were, of course, not actual human children, but Jack's wild companions, Steve the squirrel and Halli the fox, and his pet Basset puppy Walter. Ydris had asked Jack about kids once or twice, but Jack always shut down when he asked, muttering something about how his mother always said he should be more maternal. And so Ydris let the matter lie. There was only one thing that Jack was adamant about, and that was that Ydris should stay inside with the kids on full moon nights.

He never said anything, however, about Ydris staying up until Jack knocked on the door and dragged himself, bloody and sometimes limping, into the bathroom. He didn't even thank Ydris for cleaning the blood and other things out of the bathroom, preferring not to talk about it.

But now, as Ydris looked in on his sleeping fiance with a snoozy pup snuggled under one arm, he smiled and couldn't imagine that the passed out man before him could ever be a fierce beast. While Jack snored, Walter waggled his paws and tail and made little yipping sounds in his sleep. Ydris had to chuckle at the way the Basset's lips twitched. He didn't seem bothered at all by Jack's snoring, even though Halli usually slunk out of the room the moment Jack fell asleep because she couldn't stand it. But, though it was loud, Ydris didn't mind- it was just part of his fiance, like being trans or being a werewolf or that weird yet wonderful animal magnetism that defied his 'curse'. 

Jack snorted and opened his eyes blearily, blinking at his fiance.

"You watchin' me sleep now?" asked Jack, not moving from his position. Walter was still completely and utterly out of it, busy doing whatever Basset pups did in their dreams.

"Merely enjoying the sight of you with our child," said Ydris, smiling as he looked down at Walter. Jack cast his eyes downwards, too, though he could only make out a fuzzy patch of brown and white fur beneath his arm without his glasses.

"Heh, only kid I need," said Jack. Of course, he thought of Steve and Halli as his children, too, but they didn't depend on him for care the way Walter did. Halli could look after herself, she just chose to hang around Jack for love and companionship, and Steve was an ex-spy for the Spy Master, so he spent his days at the now-daily lettuce buffet over at human Steve's when he wasn't accompanying Jack on adventures.

Jack's voice sounded a little dry, so Ydris handed him the bottle of water that he kept chilled in an enchanted box (he could have had a fridge but no, Ydris had to be fancy and magical in everything he did, which Jack loved) beside his bed. He kept the all-important meds in his gloved hand until Jack put his glasses on and held his own hand out, not wanting Walter to suddenly wake up and eat them.

"Thanks," said Jack, careful to not wake Walter as he sat up and took them. He smiled down at his pup, who had now rolled onto his back in his sleep, his big ears spread out on either side of his head like wings.

"He looks like Dumbo," said Ydris, smiling fondly. Jack grabbed his phone and snapped a photo to share on his blog later, and to text to his friends for mass cooing.

"Please don't give him a magical feather so he can fly," said Jack, putting his phone away after checking his messages. Z had texted him a few memes, while the rest of his friends were more concerned with him getting a decent night's sleep. He chuckled at the memes, sharing them with Ydris, who tried to understand but usually didn't.

"I will never understand your sense of humour," said Ydris, frowning at the image on the screen.

"Old man," Jack teased. Ydris leaned down and kissed him.

"This old man will be your future husband," Ydris reminded him. "I'm not an old man when we're in bed together, hmm?"

"Not at all," said Jack, putting his phone down and wrapping an arm around Ydris so they could share a few more kisses.

Unbeknownst to them, while they were busy kissing, Walter woke up, almost squashed beneath Ydris, and wriggled around. He wriggled up between them, wanting in on this love fest, and Jack broke away, blushing and laughing, when he felt a little tongue licking his chin.

"Aww, does someone else want kisses?" asked Ydris, his tone low as if he was speaking to a child, and the two of them bestowed kisses upon Walter's head and ears and back, smothering him with pets and tickling his belly. Walter's little legs kicked as he lay on his back, yipping and panting with excitement, his tail going a mile a minute.

"Yes he does, yes he does," Jack cooed, scratching Walter's belly so that the pup's leg began kicking in reflex.

"Who needs coffee when you have a pupper?" said Ydris with a laugh as Jack sat up and got out of bed, jogging out of the room so that Walter followed him. Ydris cast a spell to make the wagon bigger so that Jack could race around with Walter barreling around behind him. The sound of running through the wagon warmed Ydris' heart.

At last, Jack jumped back on the bed, which crashed into the wall, and flopped down, laughing, while Walter tore back up onto the bed and hopped around, yipping and threatening to tear the sheets with his tiny claws. Ydris chuckled as Walter began to lick Jack's face while his fiance panted, still giggling from the pup's antics.

"Let's take him for a walk today?" asked Ydris, while he waited for Jack to catch his breath.

"Yeah," said Jack. "Just let me..." He trailed off, still panting, and Ydris chuckled.

While Jack was busy cooling off with some water, Ydris grabbed Walter's collar and leash, which jingled. Immediately, he heard tiny paws barreling towards him, and Walter began jumping around him, yipping, tail going like mad, eager for the almighty Walk. He gave a tiny howl of excitement, tail a blur. Ydris had to laugh, even as Walter scrabbled at his legs with tiny paws that threatened to tear the fabric. But Ydris didn't mind- if the fabric tore, it tore. That was just an occupational hazard that came with being the proud papa of a puppy.

By the time Jack emerged from the bedroom (he had not showered, not when he'd only get all sweaty from a walk anyway), Ydris had managed to fasten the collar around the wriggly pup's neck, and was busy rubbing the soft fur of the puppy's back. Walter hopped around, licking Ydris' hands and face, and Ydris looked up, grinning, at Jack's laugh.

"Do you two need a minute alone?" asked Jack. Ydris smirked at his fiance's teasing tone.

"Were it not for getting a mouthful of fur, I'd blow a raspberry on his belly," said Ydris.

"He probably wouldn't appreciate that, anyway," said Jack, crouching down to administer belly scritchies. Walter's tongue lolled out as he kicked his back foot in the air.

"Are we ready to go now?" asked Ydris. "I know he's eager for a walk." At the mere mention of that word, Walter was up and tearing around the room crazily, panting. Both men laughed.

"Don't get him too excited, he'll tangle himself up in the lead," said Jack. "Come on, Walter, here pup." At his call, Walter came running up to Jack, barrelling into him at full force. Jack laughed and rubbed the floppy ears, holding Walter still so that he could clip the leash on. He really needed a harness so he wouldn't choke himself in his over-eagerness, but the stores in Jorvik didn't carry them, so Jack was waiting for one that he'd ordered off jBay.

As soon as the leash was on, Walter bolted for the door, and Ydris struggled to grab hold of the end of the leash and keep up with him.

"I'll walk him, you're too tall," said Jack, taking the end of the leash from his fiance and holding it firmly but not too firmly. He didn't want to hurt his pup, after all. "Walter, heel." Walter did no such thing, straining to get out the door, and Jack was very glad that he'd managed to train Walter out of his over-excited peeing. At least, inside the wagon. Ydris was also glad for that, though Halli still needed to learn that lesson. Steve, being ex-spy, had no such issues, and could use the toilet like any human. That was strange.

Once outside, Ydris locked the door of his wagon using one of the most advanced locking spells (and a padlock from Conrad) and jogged a little to keep up with Jack and Walter. They walked across the bridge to the Harvest Counties, where there were no cars on the road or other dogs to frighten or threaten the young puppy.

"Which way?" asked Ydris as they stood outside the inn. Walter was busy sniffing around, so Jack followed him and tried to stop him from peeing on anything important. He also had some plastic bags and gloves, just in case.

"Let's go abandoned," said Jack. "We can play fetch in that huge empty paddock."

"As long as there isn't a dressage show on there," said Ydris. Jack snorted.

"When is there ever dressage there?" asked Jack. "C'mon, Walter." He turned and headed for the huge iron gates, Walter tearing along in front of him. Ydris had to smile at how happy Jack looked. Since he'd gotten the pup for his fiance, back when they'd been boyfriends, Jack had been a lot more active, actively looking forward to going on walks with his little puppy. The exercise was good for him in more ways then just one, too, as it released the good stuff in Jack's brain and helped keep the darkness at bay just that little bit more. Jack had even lost weight, as had Ydris, who had recently started needing to wear suspenders just to keep his trousers up. They didn't make trousers long enough for him, and he was waiting for new ones to be made by Donald.

The walk to the empty paddock was long, and, to Ydris' relief, the paddock was empty. So they hadn't walked all this way for nothing. Though he quietly grumbled about having to walk uphill after the long walk here. Walter, however, still had boundless energy, tearing around the paddock as soon as Jack had unclipped his leash.

"Walter," Ydris called, holding up a stick and whistling. Walter's ears couldn't perk up, but his head did, and his entire body wagged as he crouched down in the universal doggy posture for 'play'. When Ydris threw the stick, Walter went tearing after it, kicking up dirt behind him and skidding past it. He ran back around it a few times, his mouth grabbing at nothing but dirt, before his jaws finally closed around the stick. But he didn't bring it back to Ydris.

"Aww, you want me to play with you, huh?" said Jack from where he sat in the middle of the paddock as Walter dropped the stick in front of him. Walter barked, and Jack smiled. "Alright, I'm gettin' up." He got up, picking the stick up, and threw the stick. This time, Walter brought it back to Ydris, looking up at him with the stick still in his mouth.

"Oh, I see now," said Ydris, smiling. "He wants to play with both of us."

"Aww," Jack cooed. "Little pupper wants to play with his dads." Walter dropped the stick and gave a bounce with another little bark. Ydris picked up the stick, still smiling, and threw it.

The game of tag-team fetch continued until Walter tripped over his feet, and then, Jack picked his puppy up and tucked him under his arm so they could walk home.

"Here," said Ydris, producing a bottle of water from his pocket, and poured some of it out into his hand. Walter lapped it up, but it was only a small amount, and he was still thirsty.

"Make a water bowl," Jack suggested.

"I was just going to do that," said Ydris, and did so. While Walter drank, Ydris stood with his fiance and watched, holding his hand.

"That'll fit in your pocket, won't it?" asked Jack.

"Of course it will," said Ydris. "I could have Walter in my pocket if I so wished, but he'd probably get scared in there."

"Good thinking," said Jack. Once Walter had drunk his fill and had flopped down into a little puddle of Basset to nap, Jack scooped him up and they walked the relatively short distance to the abandoned farm. There, while Walter snoozed in one of the empty stables, Jack and Ydris sat and talked softly.

"Remember when we came here ages ago, when we first started dating?" asked Ydris. Jack blushed.

"Don't talk about that in front of the kid," said Jack. Ydris chuckled.

"I've always liked it here," said Ydris. "And not just because of that memory." He kissed Jack, and Jack returned the kiss happily, twining his fingers with Ydris'.

"Me too," said Jack. "Nice and quiet, close to home, and it's just beautiful." He smiled, closing his eyes and letting the peaceful noonday warmth permeate him right to his bones. And Ydris could only smile. Seeing Jack like this gave him a deep happiness, one that was increasingly more common these days. Maybe things were getting better.


End file.
